How are we going to get out of this? We have an army of undead all around and god knows where we are! I know that there is little to no chance of us surviving, even if we make it through this challenge, there will just be another waiting for us. And while the enemy grows with each fallen survivor our numbers only grow smaller, and our resources dwindle more and more. What’s the point in fighting, if there’s no hope of victory?

Pages

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Haven Chapter 31

Chapter 31

My heart
was beating fast in my chest, I felt like I was still surrounded by the dead.
But instead of being afraid I felt excited, and anxious. We were close to the
warehouse, in a moment we would see it, but there was still the possibility
that the others didn’t make it back alive. I didn’t know what I would do if
they didn’t, how I would be able to go on. Without Jade any hope I had of
having any meaningful future was gone. That was why I worried so much, it was
one of the reasons why I left her here. I thought she would be safe, but know I
wonder whether she would’ve been safer with me, even when we were trapped in
the station.

We
turned the final corner, and then it seemed like my heart had stopped beating
entirely, they were alive. Just like us the car, as well as its passengers, was
worse for wear, covered in blood and the windscreen was smashed. They hadn’t
noticed us yet, I saw Chris cleaning chunks of flesh off the car, and as we
approached Daniel exited the warehouse, his arms full of supplies they had left
behind. But I couldn’t see Jade. My mind flooded with all the possibilities,
was she inside? Was she left behind? Was she even alive? But all my questions
were answered, along with a small heart attack, when the windscreen shattered,
showering the bonnet with glass. Inside I could see Jade holding a baseball
bat.

Before
they noticed us I saw the three of them arguing, but when they finally did they
stopped, and ran to greet us. The doors slid open before we’d even stopped and
Lauren dashed out towards Chris. I barely registered their reunion, or that of
Daniel, Will, and Nicole, my eyes searched for Jade. I finally saw her as she
stepped out of the Ute, and I found myself running towards her faster than I ran
away from the dead. We collided and it hurt because of our injuries, but
neither of us cared. I held her close, almost crying. I treasured every moment,
everything. Every scent, sight, and touch felt new and familiar at the same
time, and I never wanted to let her go. But I had too, and after pulling back
and laughing better than we had for years we all met at the back of the Ute.

“How did
you guys go getting away?” Will started

“Better
than we expected if I’m being honest,” Daniel answered, “the windscreen got
smashed when we hit one full on, but we were able to keep the rest away with
sticks”

“We
fired as few rounds as possible,” Jade added, trying to keep our eyes from
meeting in case we never looked away, “once we had their attention we didn’t
want to get any more, what about you guys?”

“Well…
um…” Will replied nervously, still traumatised by his near miss

“We ran
into a bit of trouble,” Nicole said gently, we knew what had to be discussed,
even if we didn’t want to discuss it

“Will
might be infected,” Lauren blurted out, she apparently didn’t not have as much
tact as Nicole

“What?”
Daniel and Jade reacted at once

“He got
covered in glass,” I explained, looking unsympathetically at Lauren, “and the
glass was covered in blood”

“Infected blood,” Will emphasised.

I was
more than worried about Will, and not just about his health. In the past experiences
with the Dead have either shattered his confidence, or strengthened his, well
his will, Will’s will. And this was a similar time, and right now we all needed
to be strong, I couldn’t afford to have him lose his strength right now, this
had to be dealt with now. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” I began, using my
best leader voice, “Nicole and are going into Haven to check Will out, when we
come out we will decide what to do, until then you guys need to do everything you
can to fix the cars.” And then I gestured to Will and Nicole and walked away,
ignoring anything the others said in protest. Inside the warehouse looked very
different than it did before, more like a home. I didn’t feel bad about
abandoning it before, but now seeing what the others have done with it I did.
The three of us stepped into what remained of Nicole’s first aid area. “I
appreciate the support Todd, but I think you should leave,” Will suggested
sheepishly

“No, I’m
here to help,” I insisted, wondering why he asked, then almost as an answer
Nicole turned around and spoke

“Alright
Will, take of your clothes,” She was all business

I was a
little less professional, “I’m gonna go,” I said quickly and ducked under the heavy
sheets blocking the view. As I turned to leave the warehouse I was stopped by
Jade. “Why aren’t you outside?” I asked, although I was happy she wasn’t

“Because,”
was all she said, as she pushed me towards the beds.

…

We had
almost died, and Will might be infected, but somehow I felt happier than I had
felt in a long time. Although we might be abandoning the warehouse, I knew that
as long as we were together I would be home. After an hour and a half of work
we were satisfied with the work we had done on the cars. I knew at some point
we would have to replace the Ute with one that had a windshield, but it would
get us back to the others. And we had found a strong clear plastic sheet to
replace the window we had broken to save Will. We also used a few buckets of
water from a nearby pond to clean most of the blood and guts from the cars,
although they were hardly sparkling. Both cars were covered in dints and
scratches, but they were still in one piece. Everything was packed and ready to
go, finally we were going to be together again, and everything would be okay.
Until Nicole and Will walked out from the warehouse, and they were both deathly
pale. “Nicole?” I asked, fearing what she would say

She
leaned in close, so only I could hear, “Will’s got a cut on his leg, it was
small but there was blood. I can’t know for sure, but its possible Will is
infected.”